!!!!!DANGEROUS!!!!! Ball Games Please Read

[Carol and Banjo]

Shortly after we got Banjo and I began posting pics of him on FB, I got  a message from a friend of my cousin, who saw my pics.   She introduced herself and said she'd fallen in love with my pics and would I mind if she asked me a "million questions" about him, about the breed, etc.     We quickly struck up a friendship and subsequently, she ended up with 2 Doodles.    She's a lovely, sweet lady and I love hearing about her "boys" and their antics.     I was shocked and devastated to get the following message from her the other morning.     We've been in constant contact since and I asked her if she would be alright with me sharing her message here.   She asked me to, hoping that it might save someone the heartache that she is now experiencing.

Hi Carol, I wanted to reach out and tell you personally that we've had some really tragic news here. I have not put anything on FB because I am still trying to reconcile it in my mind and my heart.. On Monday, i was playing ball with my amazing and wonderful dogs around lunchtime. My Huey, who is the 'ball king' was running and catching and enjoying every single moment. Sadly, the last ball he caught, got stuck in his windpipe. I saw immediately what happened and ran to help him. I gave him the heimlich several times and i couldnt dislodge it. In a panic I ran to the street, where the paving guys were working and screamed for help. Two men came and tried to heimlich it out also. I called 911, We still had a heartbeat and I could feel the ball in his neck, so i pushed up on the ball from outside and one of the men was able to reach in and get it out. I started CPR with compressions and breathing, but it was too late, and he passed away. We all love this boy so much and we are devastated. I keep replaying it in my mind, even though I know logically I did everything possible, but I still can't believe he is gone.   .........

She was throwing a Chuck it Ball for the dogs.   She bought the recommended size, a large.    She now feels the only safe size would be the XXL.     

This is something I've never, once considered as something that could happen.   Although Banjo is not really into playing catch with balls, I know many of you have ball crazy dogs.     I hope sharing Gena's story makes people aware of a possible danger that they may never have thought of.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Oh Carol, how awful! I'm so terribly sorry for your friend's loss. I would never have thought something like that could happen, either. Thanks for posting, this may save another dog's life. 

[Carol and Banjo]

I know, Karen.    I would think just about any ball sold for dogs would be safe.   I'm sure this was a freak accident, but, it happened.   Just awful.

[Cheryl and Finnegan]

This is so awful. I'm sorry for your friend's loss. Finn like to catch his kong balls.  This gives me pause.

[Ginny Nightingale]

Oh, my --what a tragedy--how frantic she must have been--this is so terrible--I like using a LARGE rope toy instead of a ball--balls make me nervous. My dogs don't like to fetch, but one of the dogs who visits me is obsessed--I will pass this on to her owner...

[Kaitee and Orwell]

I don't want to be a downer here, but you have to be careful with the ropes too. My trainer told me a story of one of her client's dog chewing the rope down to the tied ball and that tied ball got lodged in his throat and he also died. 

[F, Calla & Luca]

So tragic and frightening. Luca loves balls and delights in catch. I just can't see how the ball could get so far down. Of course I throw with much less force than a Chuck It.

[Jenny and Cooper]

How terrible! :( Reading this gave me testy eyes. I'm so sorry for your friend's loss. Thanks for sharing. Cooper's BFF (a lab) is CRAZY about fetching balls. l will definitely share this story with my friends.

[Lori, Daphne, Lucy & Pippa]

Oh wow! I am SO sorry!!! I cant imagine the guilt she must feel even though it is not her fault!

[Stella]

What a horrible and tragic thing to happen, I can't even begin to imagine how she is feeling. I play fetch with a frisbee as I feel it is safer than with balls. I guess it's not widely known, but I remember reading somewhere that your dog should not play with anything smaller than its head, because of the risk of swallowing, or I guess potentially inhaling :(

[Carol and Banjo]

Sounds like a good rule of thumb.      Once in a great while I've taken Banjo's "chew ball" out to play fetch with.     It's pretty heavy and I can just imagine it thrown and caught just right that it could be very dangerous.    Needless to say, it will stay in the house for chewing only.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

What a horrible thing to happen. I know that Oprah Winfrey lost one of her dogs in similar circumstances. So very sad and my heart goes out to this family. 

[Carol and Banjo]

I'd never heard that about one of her dogs.   It is so sad.